A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling ~ a Review

by MK French

On the day that the Japanese emperor announced Japan's surrender in WWII, three men that had been involved in the war surrounding a village would return after their deaths and meet again in the afterlife. One is an American pastor that had done missionary work in the area for years, one is an American that had been training Chinese soldiers, and one is a Chinese sharpshooter. When they have all returned seventy years later, the only person missing in Ah Yan, which translates to Swallow, and was also known as Stella and Wende by the men. Her presence in their lives made profound changes, and her story comes together through the lens of the men's stories.